Or could Rory in TEH be Rory the Roman, nearly 2000 years old?

So there were two rorys running around in that little vilage?

Or

Maybe? Who knows?

They did say that the Silence never built anything, used stuff that they got others to deliver.

there is also supposed to be the return of the

in a future episode.

Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd, that there's a 'Baywatch-style' Life-Savers Beach Hut on the foreshore of an otherwise completely isolated lake, with no road access, in the middle of a desert.

A scenario that hardly warrants Pamela Anderson to be on-hand, just in case. This isn't a bustle oceanside beach. It's a watering hole in the middle of a vast, barren wilderness.

Oh, and PS: If you look closely, there's someone dangling casually out of it, in a whole bunch of shots.

Yeah, this is not a production error or a careless crew member. We're getting foreshadowed.

My guess is... [LIST][*]We've seen the older version of the Doctor get shot. [*]We've seen the present day version of the Doctor turn up at the Diner, hours later. [*]But I also think we've seen the 'present' version of the Doctor, 13 episodes into the future, ready to jump in and save the day - as soon as everyone leaves for the diner.[/LIST]
And my guess is, he rowed across the lake to be there.

But how can he have rowed across the lake to get to the diner when they had already burned the boat?

Or have I misunderstood?

You've mis-understood.

There's 'now' Doctor who we don't see until the Diner.
There's he is again in the BeachHut - 13 weeks from now, crossing over his own time streams to save...
The 3rd & final version of the Doctor, who is 200 year older and who gets shot.

I understand now

But THREE Doctors - I'm having enough trouble getting my head around two!

Maybe the doctor who turned up in the Diner, was watching them all from the hut, and then maybe after doing/fixing something at the lake,went in the tardis (which was in the hut) to beat them to the Diner? Does that make sense.

My head really hurts.

I like this theory! I agree, I think the Doctor from another point in time must have been at the scene...the boat being there because of him does make sense.
It's possible the person by the hut was just production crew (possibly there to indicate to the actor playing 'older Canton' when to raise his arm to signal to the Doctor?) but I'm hoping it's the Doctor or one of the companions from a different point in time, taking care of things.

It's possible that the hut is just there in real life and not actually significant to the plot...but in Confidential didn't they talk about going out of their way to use that location and getting the sunset filmed at dawn, in reverse?

Hmmm

Couple of other possibilities -

Future Doctor's Companion

Canton's Husband keeping out of sight.

Thats my original theory out of the window!! I agree that it makes sense, younger Canton by the hut and the real Doctor in the astronaut suit. The hut is certainly too obvious not to be significant. Amy saw a silent watching them, maybe it was a set-up to fool the silents into thinking he was dead?

why do Rory, Amy & River believe Canton when he says he can confirm that it is the doctor?

How can Canton without a shadow of a doubt say that it is the doctor..?

Might be one of these from the big bang.

I'm still confused about that, maybe they overlooked that, I don't know - either that or Rory is older than he appears (and by that I mean even before the whole 2000 year wait thing to complicate things. Unless it is going to be explained this series. But I suppose they could have overlooked one detail, but that would be a rare minor mistake. Things such as accidently catching crew members is just totally careless.

I have an idea. Maybe a poor idea but one which just popped into my head.

Moffat likes teasers, and the figure next to the beach hut could well be a teaser to be revealed later, but how much later???

I've heard elsewhere (can anyone confirm it?) that moffat has been quoted as saying that he had a 5 year plan for the curent incumbrant of Doctor Who (Matt Smith).

If this is the death scene, or A death scene, the revisit moment might not actually be in this series??

I mean, if I was in charge, yes, I would try to be clever and get various clues and red herrings and clear them all up byt eh end of the series, but how fantastic would it be to be able to, in a series or two down the line, be able to come back to this episode and revisit it???

Would love to be able to do something like this.

Still, it doesn't get us any further to who it is, if it was an error, or even if it's nothing to do with the story.

Maybe Canton the elder is lying, after all if it meant convincing the silents that the Doctor was dead he'd happily lie to Amy, Rory and River. Besides if the Doctor who was shot was a clone, then technically it would be (in DNA terms) categorically the Doctor. Also why did he have to be so affirming that "categorically" it was the Doctor?

I still profer the idea (however unlikely) that River is a time-stalker and the man by the hut is from the Stormcage people, there because he's been tipped off that River is going to kill the Doctor!

This figure appears twice in the above scene. However when it is first shown, the sarcophagus is leaning backwards covering the hooded figure (13:09mins in).

The next time we see the figure the sarcophagus is standing upright and the hooded shape it right behind it (13:20mins in).

Unlike the figure on the beach, this hooded figure doesn't move. Perhaps the fact that the sarcophagus has moved in between shots suggests perhaps a time lapse between shooting the frames in the scene.

In fact, there is nothing to suggest that the 'hooded figure' is nothing more that a prop covered with dark cloth with which was used to support the sarcophagus in the first place.

The figure on the beach is most certainly a person who is moving about.

Actually rewatching the scene again in slow mo (cos I'm THAT bored this morning) you do actually SEE someone just out of shot at 13:32mins on the right of the screen almost behind the camera.

It's when Amy first stands up and the camera pulls back to view the room and the Pandorica.

Whoever it is jumps out of the way of the camera just in time. So my feeling in this example that it is indeed crew.

He grew up with Amelia - so went from a child to an adult. I don't see how he could be anything other than Rory, really.

That isn't the problem, the problem is with the badge saying it was issued in 1990, that would make Rory in his late 30s/early 40s at the very least and I don't think anyone can keep the years off that well given I would put him as late 20s/early 30s. So unless Rory looks about 10 years younger than he is (which contradicts the Rory growing up with Rory thing) there must be some other explaination for the issued in 1990.

Can I just say, well done OP, I watched it twice and didn't even see the hut!
And also it gave me the creeps looking at it! Like BIG STYLE and I don't know why.

I can't see any reason for the beach hut to be there unless it's a future plot device, I mean it's a lake not the sea - this has to be revisited. Has to be.

As SM officially stated it was an error, that's what it is to me. Just a production error.